Russia
and India have not only long-standing close relations in the military
sphere, but also big plans for further cooperation. No wonder Russia and its weapons are waiting on one of the largest
international exhibitions of arms Defexpo India - 2016 to be held in the
Indian state of South Goa from 28 to 31 March.Plans
for the military and military-technical cooperation between the two
countries and confirmed the recent conversation Sergei Shoigu, Minister
of Defense of Russia with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikarom. Ministry of Defense conversation item is not reported, however, it can
be assumed that the parties touched upon the topic of the upcoming
exhibition of arms in India, where Russia will present more than 800
kinds of items.Defexpo India International Trade Fair is held under the auspices of
the Ministry of Defence of India and the Confederation of Indian
Industry to once every two years, for the period from 1999, it became
one of the most important international exhibitions of the defense
industry.In addition to showing Russian weapons, the exhibition will be held a series of talks with foreign customers. Defexpo India - 2016 is an important event for the Indian defense industry. For
example, the company "Tehmash" plans to discuss with the Defense
Ministry of India issues of joint development and organization in the
country of production of ammunition caliber of 23 millimeters to 155
millimeters. This is confirmed by the Government of India passed the course «Make
in India», which is aimed at the localization of production in the
country and involves the creation of joint ventures and localization
technologies."India has over the years is our strategic partner. Today we are working on the expansion of cooperation in various fields
in accordance with the vector - the traditional sphere of
military-technical cooperation up civilian areas: electronics,
biotechnology and composite materials ", - said General Director Sergei
Chemezov Rostec.Missile systemsRussian
developer and manufacturer of air defense systems - concern aerospace
defense "Almaz-Antey" will present leading-edge products, including
anti-aircraft missile system S-400 missiles "Caliber-PLE" (91RE1),
"Caliber-NCE" (91RE2 ).Developed
in OAO "OKB" Innovator "in Yekaterinburg 91RE1 missile enters the
integrated missile complex" Caliber-PLE "for arming submarines (export
designation« Club-S »), 91RE2 rocket - an integrated missile complex"
Caliber-NCE "for weapons surface ships (export designation Club-N). Complex "Caliber-PLE" and "Caliber-NCE" designed to destroy land, sea
surface and underwater targets under intense fire and electronic
countermeasures enemy.They can affect the current and future submarines underwater,
periscope and surfaced in all areas of the oceans, including in areas
with shallow depths.The effectiveness of these missiles "Movement" system has already seen the world during Russian operations in Syria. However,
the range of the missiles "Caliber-PLE" and "Caliber-NCE" system -
200-300 kilometers and complies with the international agreement on arms
exports.

Nevertheless,
even with such a missile range, placed in transport containers in the
civil courts, they can be used as a weapon of retaliation by those
countries that can not openly oppose the US. India, by the way, was one of the first countries that purchased these complexes. In particular, they are equipped with a built in Russia for the Indian Navy diesel submarine Project 877 EKM.Military equipmentThe "Almaz-Antey" the press service reported that the company at the exhibition plans to hold talks with foreign customers. Perspective can be, and negotiations on the complex "Triumph", "Tor-M2E (K / CM)."Last - anti-aircraft missile system designed to destroy aircraft,
helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles aerodynamics, guided missiles and
other elements of high-precision weapons, flying at medium, low and very
low altitudes in a complex air and noise conditions.Holding
"Precision Systems", included in Rostec, will present models of
"Iskander-E", "Chrysanthemum-S", which have no analogues in the world.

Any armor remains defenseless against the "Chrysanthemum-S" complex. High penetration power and the ability to see the target in any environment make this complex popular with foreign customers.Family complexes "Iskander", in turn, has another advantage. It can effectively engage in the depths of enemy territory multiple
launch rocket systems, long-range artillery, anti-missile and
anti-aircraft defense, planes and helicopters airfields, command posts
and communications centers, as well as the most important civilian
infrastructure.In addition, it will present a series of portable missile systems on display. One of them, "Kornet-E" is designed to defeat tanks and other armored
targets, including those equipped with modern dynamic protection.The exhibition will show Russia and means of destruction of aircraft. In particular, the newest portable air defense systems "Verba". It
is designed to engage low-flying air targets on a collision course and
will catch up under the impact of false thermal noise. With a high probability of striking low-radiation targets - cruise missiles and UAVs.It is worth noting that the complex includes an automated control
system (ACS), which produces the detection of air targets, including the
group, the determination of their flight parameters, as well as the
distribution of anti-aircraft gunners found between the goals, taking
into account their location.According
to the designer general of the Scientific and Production Corporation
"Machine-Building Design Bureau" (JSC "SPC" MSC "), Valery Kashin,
jointly MANPADS" Verba "performance surpasses all the world analogues. The complex at times improved thermal characteristics to overcome the
traps, increased shooting accuracy, optimized for a variety of
indicators.In addition, the holding company will showcase at the exhibition
layout antiaircraft "Sosna-R" guided missile, the automated complex
"Pine" and sea-aided anti-aircraft artillery complex "Palma" with
anti-aircraft "Sosna-R" guided missile.aerotechnics

Since
India operates several types of Russian aircraft, for it is a topical
issue of modernization of aircraft and engine production for her. To
this end, United Engine Corporation will present models of the most
advanced production engine for military aircraft (including Su-35)
AL-41F-1S. In
addition, the exhibition JDC plans to address the theme of aircraft
engines (AL-31FP, AL-41F-1S, RD-33MK, the AL-55I), helicopters (VK-2500,
TV3-117) and ships (M-70FRU) .In
turn, the holding company "Russian Helicopters" will present the latest
Mi-38 and Ka-226T, and will hold talks with India's leading aircraft
manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, an Indian shipping company
Pawan Hans Limited, which operates the Mi-172 helicopters, and other
organizations. For Pawan Hans Limited planned to hold the presentation of the Mi-38 and Mi-171A2. ShipsUnited Shipbuilding Corporation will also participate in Defexpo India
- 2016 and provide surface ships and submarines of various classes of
non-nuclear.As noted in the press-service of the company, number of vehicles
exhibited projects already successfully manifest itself in actual combat
conditions in the Russian Navy.Attention
of specialists, experts and visitors can attract companies presented
projects the corporation: non-nuclear submarine "Amur-1650" with
airindependent power plant; large diesel-electric submarine of project 636; 11711E large landing ship of the project; multipurpose frigates of the project 22356; patrol ship project 22500; rescue vessel to rescue the crews of submarines in distress project 21301; anti-mine ship Project 12701 "Alexander-E"; raid trawlers 10750E Project; small submarines "Piranha" and "Piranha-T"; patrol boat project 22160.

The
exhibition will feature products from leading Russian shipyards:
"Sevmash", "Admiralty Shipyards", "Baltic Plant - Shipbuilding",
"Severnaya Verf" Shipyard "Yantar" CA "Zvezdochka" SNSZ and Proletarian
plant, as well as design Office: CDB ME "Rubin" SPMBM "Malachite", Northern PKB, Zelenodolsk Design Bureau, Neva PKB and CMDB "Almaz".It should be noted that some types of warships may start producing in India. So, Rosoboronexport is negotiating with India on the organization of
production frigates of Project 11356 in the country, said Deputy General
Director Sergey Goreslavskii special exporter."Today,
we are in talks about a possible construction of submarines of Project
75 (and) on the basis of the latest diesel-electric submarines of"
Amur-1650 ", also discuss prospects for the purchase of an additional
batch of frigates of Project 11356 and the organization of their
licensed production in India" - quoted Goreslavskaya TASS .Frigates Project 11356 have a displacement of 4000 tons, speed - 30 knots, cruising - 30 days. The ships are armed with missile complex "Caliber-NK" cruise missile
with a high-precision, multi SAM "Calm 1" SPAR "Broadsword."Author: Michael LeveragePhoto:
Alexey Ivanov / TRC "Star" Konstantin Semenov / TRK "Star", the
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, "Russian Helicopters"

The phrase “a Pig War” used in the title of this article has
been mentioned in a number of previously published articles. Today, in
view of another episode of escalation of inter-Korean relations, this
phenomenon will be explained in detail. First, let us look at the causes
of the new wave of antagonism. If we focus on the role of mutual
demonization and agitation, we will notice that a few factors heavily
contribute to the transformation of a misunderstanding into a hostility.

First,
demonization drastically reduces the chances for the resumption of the
inter-Korean dialogue. And there is a certain logic behind that, “How
can we engage in negotiations, or maintain “hot lines,” or the system of
mutual awareness with them, a true embodiment of evil?” Consequently,
the tools that are normally employed in the settlement of
misunderstandings preventing them from descending into conflicts prove to be ineffective in a situation of mutual distrust.

Secondly,
demonization is the root cause of distorted reality that manifests
itself in several ways. First, any activity of the other party will be
(incorrectly) interpreted as harmful based on the assumption that the
other party is a bunch of “bloodthirsty ill-wishers.” Accordingly, any
activity will be viewed as a preparation for a provocation or as a
provocation in progress.

At
the same time, analysis and expert examinations are twisted to play the
role of yet another cog in the propaganda machine. Naturally, in the
situation of mutual resentment, those trying to voice the true state of
affairs will be silenced and those “greasing the wheel of propaganda
machine” will be in trend. What does the world see as a result? A
phenomenon where people first invent a propaganda construct and then
uphold it as the ultimate truth. And it is nearly impossible to convince
them to abandon their delusion.

Demonization
also leads to a mutual agitation manifested in two ways. First, both
parties act on the principle of an asymmetrical response, i.e., they
harshly retaliate for any minor provocation. In other words, when a
country is on the “red alert,” the shoot-and-kill tactic is applied each
time something seems to be suspicious.

Second,
mutual agitation creates a stressful environment for the parties to the
conflict. The lower strata of the society experiences the most severe
pressure. That, in turn, increases the chances of an inadequate reaction
to some strange or unusual events.

As a
result, the likelihood of a conflict triggered by an insignificant or
engineered cause increases tremendously and is often referred to as “the
Pig War.”

Here
is a hypothetical situation. Let us speculate how things will develop
in it. A pig is rustling in the bushes of a demilitarized zone. There
are military personnel on either side of the zone. They have long been
on the verge of a nervous break and have been subconsciously waiting for
an enemy provocation. They are ready to leap into action to settle
accounts with the scoundrels from the other side of the demilitarization
zone.

One
of the parties (it does not matter which one) loses the nerve and,
having decided that it is not a pig in the bushes, but creeping
saboteurs, opens fire. Having heard shots coming from the other side,
the other party returns fire. It also reports to its leadership that it
has (in compliance with the instructions) harshly retaliated for a
provocation.

The
party that started shooting at the pig and received a return fire also
retaliates severely, while reporting to its commanders that it has been
attacked without a declaration of war. In the aftermath, each party
actively blames the other party for being attacked for no apparent
reason. Then zealous military steps in: “Won’t you finally give us a
chance to teach these scoundrels a lesson!” Then politicians join the
choir: “This time we must not soften the issue and let them get away
with it! We cannot afford to act as some weaklings. We must keep up our
country’s prestige in the eyes of the public!” But situation is such as
there is no way to determine what triggered this turmoil. On the other
hand, nobody really cares to find out either. Because those who were
wishing for a turmoil are now rubbing their hands.

Another
point is that in these circumstances the overall picture of the
political situation and military power of the opponent’s country can be
significantly distorted. Ideological “blinders” can grant tremendous
assistance as well. As a result, the parties might find themselves in a
very unpleasant situation. For example, the South might believe that the
“senseless bloody regime” of the North is about to collapse and that it
really makes plans to attack the defenseless South. The South might
also believe that there is a strong Christian opposition in the country
and that mass protests are about to erupt. Basing their assumptions on
these imaginary believes, they would expect that intervention of South
Korean or American military aiming at the elimination of nuclear sites
or the top country officials would gain support of the country’s
population, or would, at least, resemble the plot of a Korean action
movie. The North, in its turn, might believe that fancy reports about
South Korean indestructible might are just reports, that the change of
the puppet regime is inevitable and that the highly praised warriors of
the US Army are cowards unable to fight without high-tech bathrooms and a
24-hour supply of ice cream. As a result, both parties would be
preparing for an armed conflict not with the real North or South, but
with some fictitious characters from the distorted “cartoon/propaganda reality.”

That
seems like quite a realistic scenario for the initiation of a conflict.
And it would be very difficult to discern where the fiction ends and
the reality begins. Because at some point the damage suffered by each
party would be so significant that nobody would be able to walk away by
just saying “oh, we are sorry, it was just a misunderstanding”
without losing their face. And that means that it would not matter
anymore who initiated the fire. The winner’s version would go down in
the history books.

The
readers could notice that the topic of risk of “irrational factors” and
the role of an accident, which is much more serious than it might seem,
has been brought up in our articles on numerous occasions. It was zoomed
in to show that despite majority of people think of politics as of
something orderly, planned in advance and targeting long-term political
goals, in reality things sometimes happen chaotically. And if ordinary
people cannot understand something, they immediately classify the
situation as an intricate combination of moves devised by some cunning
politicians. In this context even “the Pig War” described above could be
interpreted as a crafty design developed by the top officials. And this
is why the irrational factor is so serious and so dangerous. And this
is why the readers are reminded of it whenever it is appropriate to
bring this subject up.

This
front cover of the New Yorker promotes the classical white supremacy
colonial racism against East Asian people in its depiction of Socialist
Korean leader as a child. Compounded in the racist framework of the
picture is to at once depict this Asian and non-Western leader as a
child but also a threat, the implicit meaning being that defiant peoples
and their leaders against imperial son cannot be trusted with their own affairs and must be minded by the 'mature' and 'responsible' colonial and imperialist overlords.

That such a classic colonial racist attack can be made in a leading
western journal indicates that Black and Asian people, a successfully
resisting East Asian and East Asian people in general can be openly
contemptuously treated with impunity.

The fact that the UK and
USA killed 4 million Koreans between 1950-1953 is hardly known, and this
ignorance directly feeds this racism, because if people are not aware
the historic and present reasons why this racism takes place, then that
ignorance informs and facilitates the historic and current imperialist
crimes.

Many many millions of East Asian people were killed in
Vietnam by imperialism in the 1960s and 1970s, after the Vietnamese
radical socialist anti-imperialists freed their country, the Westerners
who were inspired by their sacrifice of millions have since lost
interest and have until now been unconcerned about a recovering and
rebuilding people and nation.

The British army conducted a
brutal war against anti-imperialist radical socialists in Malaya, where
the revolutionaries were raped and be headed by the British army, but
there has been no campaigns in Britain to seek justice for these people.

While Japan conducted brutal colonial policies in the region,
with the backing of western imperialism, Japan itself has been victim
itself of imperialism with the killing of 100s of thousands in the USA
bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, they were massacred as a message to
the anti-imperialist people's of the world that this is what they are
facing if they dare to stand up for themselves. However, China, Vietnam
and Korea showed that imperialist nuclear threats are a 'paper tiger'
and liberation victories can be won.

More recently we are East
Asian women, girls and boys subjected to colonial sexual acts and abuse,
such as the sexual and sex child abuse industry in parts of South East
Asia whereby mostly western white men go to sexually abuse our peoples
with general impunity. A sexual abuse industry that has much to do with
imperialist occupations and aggression in Korea but especially during
the war against Vietnam.

North Korea said Monday that its nuclear forces are prepared to carry out a preemptive strike "against the mainland" US and South Korea, if this is necessary for the security of the country, reported the news agency KCNA, quoted by AFP."The pre-emptive nuclear attack justice will be carried out according
to the statement by the head of the KPA," reads a statement from the
North Korean Defense quoted by the Korean Central News Agency.With
this threat Pyongyang has reacted to the announcement of the South
Korean authorities on joint military drills with the US, which have
historical significance because of its magnitude. Maneuvers, were inaugurated on Monday, March 7 and will run until
March 18, involved some 300,000 South Korean soldiers and about 15,000
US military.

The announcement follows a series of provocative actions by North
Korea on the right after the Security Council of the UN approved a list
of sanctions against Pyongyang, the most severe in 20 years of tense
relations with the communist country Peninsula.This move came in response to the nuclear test and launching a rocket with a satellite made by Pyongyang. Pyongyang has rejected Friday the Security Council resolution of UN
sanctions against the country and has expressed its intention to further
develop its nuclear program.In the operation 'Kill Kim'?Seoul military sources quoted by Yonhap news agency have reported that the US joint exercises and South Korea also contain a precise plan attacks against senior political and military positions of Pyongyang.This
is the 5015 operating plan, which also details how Seoul and its allies
can detect, disrupt and destroy the nuclear arsenal of the communist
country in case of war breaking out on the Korean peninsula, the agency
said.

Infographic: The range missileNorth KoreaOn March 3North Korean leaderorderedby a decreepreparenuclearforces in the countryto carry outan attackat any timeif necessary.

The
survey, which was only one question: "Who would you vote for in the
elections to the Duma?", The site was attended by 2 thousand 487
respondents - it is even more than in the standard opinion polls, which
are conducted by VTsIOM, but naturally. it does not take into account the sociological sample.On the leading place was the Communist Party, which received 44.4% of the votes polled.Remained in second place, "United Russia" won only 8%, while the other parties have failed to overcome the 5% barrier. 4.7% received "Falcons Zhirinovsky" further ahead "Socialist", located "Homeland" with 3.9%. Same result - by 3.6% scored "Fair Russia" and "RPR-Parnas", 0.1% of them are behind "The Communists of Russia".As
for the other parties with an opportunity to participate in the
elections to the State Duma without collecting signatures, the "Apple"
has collected 1.8% of the vote, "party of pensioners" - 1.1%, "Patriots
of Russia" - 1%. "Just Cause", "Civic Platform", "Green" and "Civil Force" were the result of lower than 1%.

The death toll from the recent earthquake measuring 6.4 on
the Richter scale in southern Taiwan has climbed to 24, with 126 people
still believed to be trapped in rubble.

The number of the
fatalities rose as emergency workers dug for survivors of the tremor
that destroyed a 16-story apartment complex in the Taiwanese city of
Tainan on Saturday.

The emergency center in Tainan said 171 had
been rescued from the building while more than 100 people were brought
to safety in other parts of the city.

Tainan mayor, William Lai, said among the 126 residents still missing, 103 are trapped “very deep” in the rubble.

The move is a breach of UN sanctions barring the country from using long-range missile technology. North Korea had notified UN agencies that it planned to launch a rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite, triggering opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test. Earlier this week Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea-monitoring project said satellite images revealed tankers arriving at the rocket site. It said the presence of the trucks likely indicated the filling of tanks within bunkers at the site rather than a rocket itself. On Friday, US President Barack Obama spoke that a North Korean launch would represent a "provocative and destabilising action".

The launch, which South Korean officials confirmed early on
Sunday morning, follows North Korea's claim last month that it had
tested a hydrogen bomb.

The move will be considered a further
provocation by Washington and its allies and likely draw more sanctions
and condemnation from the United Nations.

The massacre of the rural population of Vietnam by U.S

Rocket and nuclear tests
are seen as crucial steps toward the country's ultimate goal of a
nuclear armed long-range missile arsenal.

Their weapons programs are necessary to defend itself against what it calls decades of US hostility.

Leader
Kim Jong Un has overseen two of the four nuclear tests and three
long-range rocket tests since taking over after the death of his father
Kim Jong Il in late 2011.

North Korea says its rocket launches are
satellite missions, but the US, South Korea and others say they are a
covert test of ballistic missile technology.

The UN Security Council has attempted to prohibit North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity.

In
2013 North Korea also did a nuclear test and unnerved the international
community by orchestrating an escalating campaign of military might
including threats to fire nuclear missiles at the US and Seoul.

The
Korean border is the world's most heavily armed and the rivals' navies
occasionally trade gunfire near a disputed boundary in the Yellow Sea.

North Korea's widely-condemned launch of a long-range rocket could
happen within a matter of hours, after Pyongyang shortened and brought
forward the start of the launch window to Sunday morning.

An
updated notification sent by Pyongyang to UN agencies on Saturday -- a
copy of which was released by the South Korean government -- said the
launch would now take place between February 7-14.

The initial window announced by the North on Tuesday had been February 8-25.
The
planned satellite launch has been slammed by the international
community as a disguised ballistic missile test that amounts to another
serious violation of UN resolutions, following the North's nuclear test
last month.

The brief updated notice sent by Pyongyang offered no reason for the date change.
"The
Seoul government believes that (North Korea) completed its launch
preparation, such as fuelling the rocket after erecting it on a launch
pad after considering various circumstances,"South Korean news agency
Yonhap quoted a defence ministry official as saying late Saturday.

South Korea's military was on alert and ready to respond, Yonhap reported another ministry official as saying.

Any
launch would now take place before the February 16 birthday of late
leader Kim Jong-Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.

The
North insists its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but
the United States and allies, including South Korea, say its rocket
launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile
(ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland.

UN sanctions prohibit North Korea from any launch using ballistic missile technology.

-- Superbowl launch? --

While the prospective launch dates were changed, there was no amendment to the 7:00am-midday (2230-0330 GMT) daily window.

That
means the rocket could blast off during the biggest annual US sports
event of the year -- the Superbowl, which kicks of at 8:00am Monday,
Pyongyang time.

Predictions of an imminent launch have been
bolstered by recent satellite images of fuel tankers at the Sohae
satellite launch complex in northwestern North Korea.

The US and
its allies have warned Pyongyang it would pay a heavy price for pushing
ahead with the launch, but analysts say the North's timing has been
carefully calculated to minimise the repercussions.
With the
international community still struggling to find a united response to
the North's January 6 nuclear test, the rocket launch -- while
provocative -- is unlikely to substantially up the punitive ante.
North Korea last launched a long-range rocket in December 2012, placing an Earth observation satellite in orbit.

Western
intelligence experts said that satellite had never functioned properly,
and argued that this proved the mission's scientific veneer was a sham.

-- Same 2012 carrier --

The
flight plan coordinates for the upcoming launch are almost identical to
those followed by the three-stage Unha-3 rocket launched in 2012 --
suggesting the same carrier would be used again.
The separated
first stage was predicted to fall in the Yellow Sea off the west coast
of South Korea, followed by a second stage splashdown in the Philippine
Sea.

Despite Pyongyang’s bellicose claims to the contrary, the
North is still seen as being years away from developing a credible
inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Orbital rocket
launches, experts say, are relatively straightforward compared to the
challenge of mastering the re-entry technology required to deliver a
payload as far away as the United States.
The US-led campaign to
impose harsh new sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test
have faced opposition from the North's main diplomatic protector, China.

On
Friday, both US President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park
Geun-Hye spoke by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, urging him to
back punitive measures against Pyongyang.
While infuriated by
North Korea's refusal to curb its nuclear ambitions, China's overriding
concern is avoiding a collapse of the regime in Pyongyang and the
possibility of a US-allied unified Korea on its border.

In case you missed it, Bhutan has a new royal baby on the way. The
western corporate media's propaganda is incredible. Here is a taste
from Fairfax Media Limited in their article "Royal Baby Joy For Bhutan":

"Congratulations from citizens of the "happiest country on Earth" have
poured in for the Bhutanese royal family, following the happy news that
the queen is expecting a son. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 35,
made the announcement on November 11, in a royal address during the 60th
birthday celebrations of his father, the nation's fourth king. "I'm
deeply pleased to announce that Jetsun and I look forward to the birth
of our son," the Oxford-educated king said in a statement, adding that
his heir is due in February 2016. ...The surprise news was warmly
received by Bhutanese subjects."

Among
Bhutan’s statistics is an illiteracy rate of 47%. The standard of
living is so poor in the country that the king announced in the 1970s a
new measure, the measure of Gross National Happiness based on Buddhist
values rather than the material world. Similar clap trap runs like
diarrhea from the mouth of the Dalai Lama, the deposed former absolute
ruler of Tibet.

Progress came to Tibet through communist
revolution. With the overthrow of the Dalai Lama, in the time of Mao’s
rule, chattel slavery and serf slavery were abolished in Tibet;
Punishments like amputations of limbs and removal of eyes for escaped
slaves, communists, and other “crimes” were abolished; Religion and
state were separated; Life expectancy doubled; Education was provided to
everyone for free where the average person had none before the
revolution; Healthcare was provided where there was none; And massive
state run development programs in Tibet today continue to raise the
standard of living.

Fact is, China, due to their social
revolution, outdoes capitalist Nepal, Bhutan, and India on all basic
measures of real happiness from women’s literacy and literacy in general
to life expectancy. These are real human gains brought about in the
material world that bring real human happiness. Gross Human Happiness
based on Buddhist values in a “quaint” mountain kingdom? That may play
well among relatively privileged new age adherents in the west who often
have their basic needs met, in part due to the wealth gained in the
imperialist world centers through capitalist plunder of subjugated
countries, but for much of the world, development and other advances are
life and death questions. And far more than capitalism, it is
primarily the efficiency of planned socialist economies established in
worker and farmer anti-imperialist revolutions that can deliver the
goods.

Bhutan, unlike the People’s Republic of China, never had
a social revolution. It is a country with no separation of religion
and state and was, up until 2011, still ruled by a monarchy. In 1958,
the Buddhist absolute monarchy of Bhutan freed its slaves, carried out a
land reform, and carried out some democratic reforms that elevated
Jigme Palden Dorji’s position to that of prime minister. This was not
coincidental to influences and fears the Bhutanese ruling class would
have had of the potential spread of the social revolution that was
taking place in China. The Chinese Revolution had, after all, during
this same immediate time period freed the chattel and serf slaves held
under the Dalai Lama’s brutal feudal system where amputations and
gauging out eyes were accepted punishments for escaped slaves and
communists.

After Indian independence, Bhutan came greatly under
the influence of India, as did the other mountain kingdoms of Sikkim and
Nepal. As India became a regional power, a repetitive reason for
Indian aggression against Nepal and Bhutan has been their relations with
the People’s Republic of China. Bhutan’s first Prime Minister, Jigme
Palden Dorji, was assassinated by Indian operatives in 1964 for trying
to establish more balanced relations China. That assassination put the
king’s younger brother, Lendrup Dorje, in the position of prime
minister. Indian troops were then placed at the border crossing between
Bhutan and China where they remain to this day.

Today, India is
also carrying out a brutal economic blockade against Nepal This part
of an attempt to unravel democratic reforms that have occurred in Nepal
as part of India's demand that Nepal not sell its future hydroelectric
production to China. Near total silence in the western corporate media
and by their governments can be read as support for India's aggression
against Nepal. My next article will explore that question in more
detail.

The 1949 Chinese Revolution liberated around 20% of humanity from
capitalism and imperialism, as well as liberating literal slaves in the
most backward parts of China, like Tibet. Life expectancy doubled under
Mao's rule. Trotskyists were brutally oppressed under Mao. and today
we can see many problems with the ruling heirs of Mao's Stalinist
ideology who have moved to the right of Mao. Yes, we see many of the
problems in China today as emerging in part from
Mao's original Stalinist sins, while at the same time still hailing the
tremendous advances made in the Chinese Revolution. Despite terrible
setbacks, the Chinese communist revolution continues to bring great
advances, including literacy, women's rights, and development. While
Trotskyists have more in common with Mao than Xi Jinping, we continue to
defend the Chinese revolution from imperialist attack and internal
capitalist counterrevolution. In this spirit, and out of my love for
such extraordinary culture and heroism in the Chinese Revolution, I
share the following Chinese opera celebrating the Chinese Revolution.

My friend John asks, "Is not now China a predominantly capitalist country?".

I respond:

Important steps backward have occurred.. Capitalist inroads are major.
Still, the banks and many of the most important strategic industries
remain socially owned. This brings many advances through state planning
including the building of housing, public transportation, renewable
energy, and development in general. These socialist advances are also
being exported through Chinese socialist investments in foreign
countries that are bringing advances in infrastructure, education, and
development that were denied by the imperialists in Africa, Asia, and
Latin America. Trotskyists fight for a far more socialist and
anti-imperialist system, but we see the defence of China from
imperialist attack and internal capitalist counterrevolution as
essential.
-Steven Argue of the Revolutionary Tendency
The East is Red (1964)

Whenever the US condemns anything, and everything,
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is doing, it’s not hard
to see through the real motives of the US. The US is having the UN
condemn and impose sanctions on the DPRK as they claim that the DPRK is
violating human rights, without any actual evidence. The US’s own human
rights records are very poor and it’s surprising to see how the US have
threated some of its allies who have been proved to violate human
rights. For example, the US was always a good ally and trade partner of
the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. The US together with its
allies France and Britain vetoed a UN resolution passed by the UN
General Assembly to eject South Africa from the UN due to it’s proven
human rights violations. When the Sharpeville Massacre took place on 21
March 1960, when the South African racist police opened fire on a crowd
of black protestors who protested against new segration laws and
worsened conditions for the black majority, that was imposed on them by
the white minority dictatorship. 180 people where wounded and 69 where
murdered when the racist police opened fire on the crowd and many where
shot in the back while they were running away from the shooting. As the
US, France and Britain were allies of the apartheid regime and they were
all key trade associates of South Africa, the Axis powers vetoed the
resolution that had a majority of the UN General Assembly behind it. If
the DPRK would open up its market to the imperialists and let US
multinational companies exploit the natural resources of the DPRK, the
US imperialists would stop talking about human rights, as they are not
interested in it at all.

The DPRK supported and trained different liberation
movements of the oppressed people in Africa, while the US always stood
by the side of the oppressors in order to exploit Africa. The motive of
the DPRK is based on independence for the masses, while the main motive
of the US is to spread imperialism and to make profit, no matter how
many that will have to suffer due to the foreign policies of the US.
That is why the US is a genocidal state by nature and that is why the US
have allies such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel, just to mention a
few, who are also genocidal violators of human rights.

A North Korean Unha 3 rocket lifts off on December 12, 2012

North Korea has begun informing international organizations of its
intention to launch an earth observation satellite sometime between
February 8 and 25.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London said it had
received notice of the launch and would be issuing an advisory to its
members. Such notifications are commonplace for space launches or
missile tests and serve as warnings to ships and aircraft to stay away
from areas through which the rocket will fly or fall.

The launch notification named the satellite as “Kwangmyongsong,”
(광명성) which is the same name given to previous satellites that were
built by the country.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said it had also
received a notification. The letter, which came through the DPRK’s
mission to the United Nations in New York, indicated the satellite would
have a lifetime of 4 years.

Here’s the notification to the IMO:

North Korea jointly developed rocket boosters with Iran – and the
technology could be deployed in a long-range ballistic missile launch,
an analyst said. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- North Korea jointly developed rocket boosters with Iran – and the technology could be deployed in a long-range ballistic missile launch.

Jeffrey Lewis, a North Korea analyst at the James Martin
Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif., said that the
movement of vehicles near North Korea's launch site indicates a
ballistic missile launch is highly possible, Jiji Press reported.

Lewis told Japan press North Korea could launch a rocket similar in
size to the Unha-3, which was fired in December 2012, but added the
possibility Pyongyang could launch another rocket, equipped with a
80-ton rocket booster developed in cooperation with Iran, cannot be
ruled out.

On Monday North Korea notified a United Nations agency of its plan to launch a satellite in February, but the plan could be a cover for a test of Pyongyang's ballistic missile technology.

Other reports indicate North Korea has not stopped developing its nuclear weapons program.
The Institute for Science and International Security in Washington,
D.C., said in a report issued Monday recent satellite imagery of North
Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex showed the construction of a new
nuclear facility on the premises, Yonhap reported.
"The precise purpose of this site remains unknown. However, it is of
interest because the signatures visible through a historical analysis of
satellite imagery are consistent with an isotope separation facility,
including tritium separation," the report read, referring to satellite
images from Jan. 25.

In a previous report,
the institute stated Pyongyang has enough nuclear material to build 22
nuclear weapons, and is in possession of 66-88 pounds of separated
plutonium.

Lucy Alexander to go ka Russian Far East Development Minister attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. After attending in an interview with Tass he has expressed an opinion about economic cooperation with Chosun (North Korea).North-Russia trade and economic, scientific and technological
cooperation gotta Intergovernmental Conference 2015 said that
expectations are well operations increased volume of trade with North
Korea:"Last year the two Koreas trade transaction volume compared with 2014
was increased to increase 15% $ 2.7 billion. Russia trade volume between
North Korea is not that level yet. It is our challenge is one that
magnifies the volume up to $ 1 billion."Minister
Najin-made comment on Hassan railway project successful business: "2015
railway industry to begin to be used during the 2015 year of 1.5
million tons cargo was transportation last year, the North Road part
pushed the situation to the fall of the Flood Damage occurred but, gotta recovery in record time by the efforts of North Koreans have been normal operation ".

Due the involvement of the US in South Korea and their vast coverage and
control of the Medias in South Korea like Radio Free Asia are spreading
and creating hostilities between both Korean countries to prevent unity
and seek for union and independance of anglo-saxon occupation and
influence of the nation and region.

I've seen a disturbing amount
of hatred towards North Korea with an almost trend and demonization to
all cost without questioning how ridiculous some of those claims are.
The majority of such hatefilled and dispicable news come from South
Korea which today for non asians and non korean people can be directly
compared with Ukraine with its blatant idiotic claims and news reporting
against Russia of invasion, using nukes against ukraine, using armata
tanks, the nonsense amount of reports of russian "terrorists" all
ordered and paid by putin himself to harm sovereignity of ukraine etc
pp. South Korea matches Ukraine in ridiculouse news and the hatefilled
propaganda against their own nation and people under the directive of
the US and harming own national interests aswell security.

Among
such ridiculous news about North Korea, how evil, totalitarian, bad
place to live and how evil Kim yong Un is you can find constantly
retarded propaganda of Kim Yong Un alledgey ordering deaths by
artillery, death squads or Anti aircraft guns and ridiculous alike for sleeping officers or his wife which all turned out days after on camera to be well and alive.

Western DPRK Propaganda: The Worst, Occasionally Hilarious, and Often Racist, Lies
Famous Singer executed by firing squad!

Either the DPRK has discovered the long-lost art of necromancy (and the
United States is in for a bone-shattering surprise when an undead Korean
People’s Army comes rattling onto its shores), it has created an
exceedingly advanced form of wax puppetry, or — forgive me for the
plainly preposterous suggestion — the imperialist media gasp lies! So
much for the bourgeois newspapers of South Korea — a country that is
still officially at war with the DPRK — that eagerly grabbed into the story.

This
isn’t even the first time something like this has happened. Kim Jong
Un’s wife was widely said to be “purged”, but then shows up days later,
alive and well.2
North Koreans forced to get Kim Jon Un-style haircuts!

Recent visitors to the country say they’ve seen no evidence of any mass
haircutting. North Korea watchers smell another imaginative but
uncorroborated rumour.

Washington, D.C.-based Radio Free Asia cited unnamed sources as saying
an unwritten directive from somewhere within the ruling Workers’ Party
went out early this month, causing consternation among students who
didn’t think the new ‘do would suit them.

Radio Free Asia, ah
yes, famously impartial federally-funded organisation established by an
act of the U.S congress citing “unnamed” sources.

For an
announcement this official apparently coming from the Workers’ Party
itself, you would expect Rodong Sinmun, the Korean Central News Agency,
or the Voice of Korea — all official government organs — to issue a
statement on the matter. But, alas, not a peep.

Photos of
suggested hairstyles posted outside women’s hair salons — the kind allow
a customer to show her hairdresser what she wants — are regularly
depicted by foreign media as showing the only sanctioned styles North Korean women can choose from.

Images
that would garner nary a note before falling into obscurity if they
were taken south of the border are sensationalised beyond belief as soon
as the exceedingly lucrative “Location: The Axis of Evil” tag can be
attributed to it.

Slow news day? Feeling creative? Why not
engorge your hit counter, pockets, and the frothing-at-the-mouth
jingoism of your readership, and concoct a fantastical tale of the Rogue
State!
Football Squad Tortured for Loosing!

It’s Radio Free
Asia again, folks! This time one of their anonymous sources said “they
were subjected to a session of harsh ideological criticism […] in front
of 400 people”4. This makes no sense though. Loosing a match of football
isn’t an ideological matter. It sounds (and it is) like a bad parody of
the popular consciousness regarding the DPRK.

The
very same source then went on to contradict themselves just a couple
sentences later, saying “how the players were reprimanded and what kind
of punishment they received wasn’t known”.4

A second anonymous
source in the article stated that “There are rumours that coach Kim Jung
Hun has been expelled from the Workers’ Party, or that he has been sent
to perform forced labor at a residential building construction site in
Pyongyang, but such rumors are hard to verify”.4

Another variant
of this rumour, this time an old one resurfacing again after first
appearing in 1966, said that the punishment for loosing was in fact
forced labour in a coal mine.5

Famously reliable Asian Football
Confederation chief Mohamed Bin Hammam jumped on the rumour mill.
Although he noted that when he met several DPRK
team members “I haven’t seen anything with my eyes or heard anything
with my ears”, he mentioned an “unconfirmed report” (read: baseless lie)
that “these players have gone through torture or something like that”.6

FIFA
decided to investigate the matter. Unsurprisingly they concluded that
the reports were “baseless”, and that “training was as usual”. “With all
of the information at hand, and having checked all of its sources, Fifa
has decided to close the matter”.7 After loosing the North Korean football were rewarded, and seen enjoying, barbecues and massages.5

Yet another rumour flying around for the 2010 world cup was that the supporters of the DPRK were paid Chinese actors. For this one, there weren’t even any anonymous sources given.8
Football Team Won 2014 World Cup Final!

Amidst the football frenzy as the next world cup rolls around, the imperialist media conjures up another topical lie:9

Lack of information could make some people believe just about anything,
even the most absurd of rumours. If further proof of that was needed,
the latest example is a North Korean video assuring viewers that North
Korea has secured a place in the World Cup final in Brazil after routing
every one of its rivals. The sad fact is that the team actually failed
even to qualify for the tournament. Nevertheless, foreign media somehow
took it for granted that North Koreans could so easily be misled. Lots
of authoritative news agencies and newspapers “swallowed” the hoax news
and rushed to report that the North Korean government was fooling its
people.

This lie was astoundingly shallow:9

To the
attentive eye, the “hoax” carried a few obvious inconsistencies. First,
North Korean television has broadcast all the key World Cup matches,
which means that North Koreans definitely know which teams played each
other and will sooner be watching the Germany-Argentina title match live
on Sunday night, rather than waiting for the mythical North
Korea-Portugal final.

Second, the presenter’s lips weren’t
completely in sync with the apparent soundtrack, suggesting that the
original speech was different.

Third, the voice-over bears a
southern, rather than northern, accent and actually sounds a lot like a
southerner trying to imitate a North Korean TV presenter.”

but it didn’t stop it being widely reported by The Mirror, The Metro, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Toronto Sun,
to name just a few (some of them have since updated their articles). As
of the time of writing the original video has 6.7 million hits. Taking
into account the hits on the various articles around the web would add
millions more.

Surely one could be forgiven for thinking that when the Washington
Post’s Chico Harlan (February 17) described the conclusions reached by
the UN Human Rights Commission’s investigation into North Korea that he
was really describing his own country, the United States. Harlan wrote,
“The report makes for devastating reading, laying out the way North
Korea conducts surveillance on its citizens (see Edward Snowden’s
revelations about the NSA’s spying on US citizens…and everyone else),
bans them from travel (anyone up for a visit to Cuba?), discriminates
against them based on supposed ideological impurities (has the United
States ever been kind to Marxist-Leninists?), tortures them (water
boarding and Abu Ghraib) and sometimes banishes them to isolated prison
camps, where they are held incommunicado” (recently Guantanamo and other
CIA torture camps around the world to which opponents of the US regime
have been rendered, more distantly, the incarceration of German-,
Italian- and Japanese-Americans during WWII.)

The report recommends that North Korea be referred to the
International Criminal Court at The Hague, but if the charges against
North Korea are true, then surely the case for referring the United
States to the same court is at least as compelling. Add the United
States’ record of extrajudicial assassination, its world-leading rate of
incarceration, its illegal wars, and its support for the most vile
human rights violators on the planet, among them Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
and Bahrain, and the case for referring US leaders to The Hague is
overwhelming.

US torture in iraq

The UN report says that North Korea is committing human rights
violations “without any parallel in the contemporary world,” a
conclusion that could only be reached by wilful blindness to the human
rights violations of the United States, its democracy-abominating allies
in the Gulf, and its south Korean neo-colony. South Korea, whose
affronts against human rights are passed over largely in silence by the
Western media (and it seems by the UN Human Rights Commission too),
conducts surveillance on its citizens, bans them from travel to North
Korea, discriminates against them if they hold views sympathetic to
North Korea, its official Juche ideology or Marxism-Leninism, and uses
its highly repressive National Security Law to lock up and intimidate
anyone who has a good word to say about North Korea.

The UN report can hardly be taken seriously. It is a transparent
effort to discredit a government that has, for more than half a century,
been in the cross-hairs of a US program of military intimidation,
economic warfare, diplomatic isolation and ideological assault, targeted
for regime change for rejecting participation in a US-superintended
global capitalist order. More than that, by passing over regimes that do
what North Korea is accused of doing, it sanitizes the behavior of the
United States and its allies, buttressing the ideological fiction that
anti-capitalist governments are uniquely human rights violators, while
upholders of global capitalism are uniquely champions of human rights.

If a case is to be pressed to refer North Korea to the ICC, then
referrals of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea to The
Hague—to start—are long overdue. Until this oversight is rectified, it
is impossible to regard the UN report—and the western media’s coverage
of it—as anything but sops to the propaganda imperatives of US foreign
policy.

“Juche Kyuksul is
a North Korean military art of self-defence techniques which teaches
how one can defend himself or his comrades without being hurt; and at
the same time, strike at the enemy with high speed and accuracy in
order to annihilate the enemy completely. It is a similar art to
martial arts such as Taekwon-Do and the likes, but the most important
difference is that Juche Kyuksul is not for games. I discovered it
among my curriculum at the Kim Il Sung Military University during my
studies in 1995. Generally, the training has seriously enhanced my
ability to carry out my work in my country”

I have been interested
in this art ever since I saw a question about it on a martial arts
forum a few years ago. Then, I couldn't find any other reference.
Late in 2012, I caught up online with a friend of mine, who learned
the art, to ask more:

Can you tell me
briefly about your connection to the art?

“I am an Army Officer
in my country. I went to Kim-il sung Military University to study
Military Tactics, Juche Kyuksul and other specialities. I was there
for 5 months in 1995.”

Most people know
Taekwon-Do. Is Juche Kyuksul different to Taekwon-Do?

“Yes, Kyuksul is for
the millitary training.”

The same as the
Korean bodyguards train?

“Yes, I was a
bodyguard to the fomer president of my country. I was trained by the
Koreans.”

I must ask, Jumping
over cars?

“Yes, of Course.”

Have you also
learned some Taekwon-Do Self Defense?

“Yes, I know
Taekwon-Do well, for self defence and protection.”

But, it is true that
Taekwon-Do is not used for millitary purposes?

“You are very right.
That's why I told you our's was Juche Kyuksul for total
anahilation of the enemy. There are one thousand and one techniques
in this art.”

Is Kyuksul is only
in DPRK? How big/popular is this art?

“It's the name our
masters in Korea told us; that being, it is not for games, but it is
for self defence and total eradication of the enemy. So you can see
how dangerous it can be - no jokimg around.

It is similar to
Taekwon-Do, but without the sympathy."

(if you know) how
many people practice Juche Kyuksul?

"It
starts as a section of troops, then it graduates to platoon
strength.
Everyone in the army learns it – it is part of the
curriculum."

There are nearly
1000,000 active duty soldiers, and 7 million reserve women and men
soldiers in the Korean army.

"I
happened to trained with that sizable number too; very interesting."

How many
intenrational people practice Juche Kyuksul?

I am aware of
alliance countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Libya, amongst
others."Honestly, I can't be
precise as to how many, but they are a large number."

Where
exactly do you train in this art? is there a specific Dojang in the
Kim Il Sung Military University?"Yes,
there's a gym and a field."

What are the Korean
instructors like? (Is it anything like Taekwon-Do Instruction)"They
are more dedicated and aggressive."

I mean to say, do
they wear a martial uniform and belt, (and yell loudly in Korean)?

"They do not wear a
uniform all the time; most times they wear a half-uniform."

What did you do in
your spare time?"I went on
excursions; I visited places like the Mangyondae Children's Palace
and Mount Kumgangsan."

My
friend only speaks well of Korea. He remembers his time fondly, and
treasures the memories and friends made there. Naturally, no photos
were allowed to be taken during training, however, we can catch a
glimps into this once-in-a-lifetime experience through the leisure
photos. Now, he is a dedicated soldier now pursing honourable efforts
in his army alongside the United Nations with humanitarian aide in
Africa. I wish to thank our comrade for his time and invaluable help
in the writing of this interview, and I wish him all the best for the
future.